Nachtlandschap met vleermuisachtige wezens c. 1900 - 1922

Marcel Roux made this night landscape with bat-like creatures using etching. It's not exactly painting, but the lines really do create a kind of tonal wash, a grey scale, that is really evocative. You can see a figure with bat wings set against the night sky. Looking closely, I notice how much variation there is in the marks that make up the image, from the very light shading of the sky to the denser marks of the creature and the architecture. The texture has this funny quality. It reminds me of Seurat and the way he builds up tone with small dots of colour. But here, instead of colour, Roux uses line, and it creates the illusion of atmosphere, the feeling of darkness and dread. It is almost like a sketch. This image really connects with others of its time, from Goya to Redon, who were interested in dreams, the subconscious, and the darker side of human experience. Art isn't about answering questions. It's about opening up new ways of seeing and feeling the world.